The gun-cleaning station in my shop has at least a dozen bottles and cans of cleaning solvents, sprays and oils. Each one is designed for a special purpose and different rifles, different bullets or barrels.

I have seen all sorts of solvents and cleaners come across gun shop counters over the years. At one trade show, I even saw a company that had a solvent made out of manure.

First, let me warn you about some things I have experienced the hard way. Some of these spray cleaners have a strong concentration of industrial alcohol. This alcohol does a tremendous job of removing powder residue and fouling. There is just one problem: It will melt plastics, discolor synthetic stocks and wreak havoc on new soft recoil pads.

I was cleaning one of my favorite rifles with a spray solvent, and it dripped into my magazine area. When I flipped over the rifle, the color was gone from where it got on the synthetic stock. There is a new spray cleaner specifically formulated for synthetic stocks.

The new foam cleaners work fairly well, but I have not seen any advantage to them over the old solvent and brush cleaning. If you use one of these foams, clean your rifle from the chamber end out, otherwise you just push that residue into your chamber and action.

If the barrel is very dirty, soak it with a good solvent and leave it overnight. You may have to clean the barrel several times.

Some custom barrel makers do not recommend the use of any solvent with an ammonia base. I suggest when you get a new rifle, contact the manufacturer for cleaning and barrel break-in suggestions.

Several brands of super recoil absorbing pads on the market today are experiencing problems with disintegration. Many of these are fairly soft, black in color and not ventilated. It seems they may have a reaction to just about anything.

I recently took a one-year-old rifle out of my safe, and the recoil pad stuck to the carpeting, causing a small tear in the pad material. It also took a set, due to being in the safe at an angle. I contacted the pad manufacturer and was advised to keep a bag over the butt of the rifle. I rotate my rifles from butt down to muzzle down in the safe just to keep the recoil pads from taking a set.

Sometimes new technology is not so great.

John Johnston is a retired sergeant detective who served with the Austin Police Department for 25 years and was a licensed gun dealer for 25 years. He now lives in Lampasas County and can be reached via email at olsingleshot@gmail.com.